Nivkhs

The Nivkhs, also known as the Gilyaks, are the indigenous inhabitants of northern Sakhalin and the Amur River estuary in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. The Nivkhs were a semi-nomadic society of fishermen, hunters, and dog breeders before coming into contact with Tungusic peoples such as the Oroks. The Qing dynasty of China had the Nivkhs pay tribute to them, and Cossacks from the Russian Empire annexed Nivkh lands from the 1850s to the 1860s. The Nivkhs became a small and neglected minority in Russia and Ukraine, with most of them adopting Russian culture (while still practicing animism). In 2010, 4,652 Nivkhs lived in Russia and 584 in Ukraine.